Haglofs Oz Pullover Tested
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Price:
£165
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Weight: 179 grammes (men's
medium)
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Features: Ultra
lightweight waterproof smock made from Gore-Tex Paclite 256,
two-piece pattern construction to save weight and bulk,
laminated front pocket with reflective gorilla grip trim,
watertight zippers, single-hand adjustable hem, 3-way
adjustable hood, articulated sleeves, elasticated cuff with
thumb loop thing, reflective prints at hip. Also available
as women's specific Oz Q version - weighs just 155g in a
size 38.
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What's It For?
The Oz is part of Haglofs' Intense series and is aimed squarely at
fast movers like runners, mountain bikers, and, says the company,
'intense hiking'. It's not really intended for regular pack use or
normal mountain walking, more for slinging in your pack or bumbag
just in case, then for short, hard activity that's going to put out
enough heat to keep it breathing and working.
Which is why it's been honed down to minimise weight and pack
size. That weight is a genuine one from our very accurate digital
scales and makes it the lightest waterproof we've used.
The Techy Bits
There's nothing particularly new about Paclite fabric or
lightweight smocks, which save a little weight over the equivalent
jacket, but what makes the Oz stand out, and what's won it awards, is
the cunning way it's been put together. You can see the main seam
running across just below the chest.
The whole garment excluding the hood is made from just two
cunningly cut pieces of fabric. That reduces seams and cuts weight by
removing seam-sealing tape and makes it more stuffable too. Stuff
like the articulated sleeves is done with sewn-in darts of fabric.
It's just very, very clever.
Elsewhere things are neat and minimalist with features that are
familiar from Haglofs' LIM - Less Is More - range, like the hood with
its external volume adjustment cord and the thumb loops.
How It Performs
It's when you're not wearing it that you really appreciate the Oz,
it's so light and packs so small that you barely notice it's there.
Stuff it in a mesh side pocket or lid or just use a bum bag and
you're insured against the rain for a relatively tiny weight
premium.
It seems like only yesterday that a 500-gramme waterproof top was
considered light, now this and TNF's 200-gramme, stitchless DIAD
jacket have comprehensively moved the goal posts across town to a
different park...
All of which is great, but would be useless if the Oz didn't do
its job when the heavens opened. Fortunately it does, within certain
limits. Let's just stress now that we wouldn't consider this as a
general use waterproof. It won't tolerate regular pack use and the
thin Paclite fabric is best used for short spells of high tempo,
heat-generating activity than under prolonged, low tempo conditions,
when it can become a tad overwhelmed.
Use it as intended though and it's fine. The cut is quite svelte
in a lean, purposeful, streamlined sort of way, so you won't be
wearing many mid-layers, but if you're moving fast, you won't need
to. The main zip is long enough to offer welcome venting and you can
also roll the sleeves up to expose your forearms for added cooling -
the elasticity of the cuffs is just right as well and didn't either
cut into our arms or roll down. The thumb loops you'll either use or
not, we liked them for a little added hand protection when
running.
The hood, despite the gawkish looks of the external tensioner,
actually sits nicely on your head and moves with it neatly. The neck
section's long for a lightweight jacket too, allowing some womb-like
chin-burrowing when things get gnarly, though the peak is pretty
minimal.
It's waterproof up to a point, but we found in prolonged rain, we
did get damp from sweat and the jacket developed a general moistness.
That's not really surprising with high tempo activities though and
it's a characteristic of Paclite which in the past we've found works
reasonably well, but can be suddenly overwhelmed by hard effort. We
think the charcoal grey liner actually works as a buffer layer,
absorbing moisture faster than it's expelled from the jacket.
Beyond that, bits like zips and the small chest pocket plus hem
cord all worked fine and it's always nice to know there's some
reflective on your top if that run takes a little longer than you
bargained for and day drifts into dusk.
One of the lightest waterproof tops out there and brilliantly
designed with that cunning two-piece pattern. It has limitations, but
what the Oz is really about is minimal weight and minimal pack size
combined with simple, but functional features - like the hood - that
do the job.
If you're a runner or biker looking for a light, but well-designed
occasional-use top, or maybe you just walk very, very quickly,
there's not much out there that's as good. For more general use
though, we'd look at a more robust but heavier garment. This is a
lightweight rabbit-chasing whippet of a jacket, just don't go
expecting it to round up sheep too...
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Weight, size and that ingenious, minimalist
construction.
A tad too focussed and fragile for general mountain
use.
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Performance
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Value
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Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this
product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
the world. If you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our
gear
forum.
The Echidna
